Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on VIRT. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of VIRT stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.29. The company had a trading volume of 862,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,187,958. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm's fifty day moving average is $39.02 and its 200 day moving average is $37.54. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $21.55 and a 12 month high of $44.58.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $497.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,582.86. The trade was a 17.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $6,903,571.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 231,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,993,177.28. This represents a 43.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 362,846 shares of company stock worth $14,079,615. Corporate insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,568,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $364,753,000 after buying an additional 165,396 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,375,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $227,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401,688 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 83.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,473,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,157,000 after buying an additional 670,774 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,448,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,696,000 after acquiring an additional 471,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,320,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,764,000 after buying an additional 445,586 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc operates as a financial services company in the United States, Asia Pacific, Canada, EMEA, Ireland, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Market Making and Execution Services. Its product includes offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, capital markets, and multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology.